HHaW: It's Tough Bein' a Fish
by Zeakari
Summary: ABANDONED - Horton Hears a Who: The scientist Dr. LaRue ends up turning the Mayor of Who-ville... into a fish.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I decided to put this up real quick before I could have time to tell myself "NO DON'T DO IT!" I almost didn't. But considering it's up here, turns out I did. Well... my first Horton Hears a Who fanfic... I was going to make this a one-shot... but then I decided not to. I also decided to try a different writing style, one with more sarcasm and humor laced within wherever I feel like. It's been a long time since I've felt a wiggly excitement about a story. This one gives me the GIGGLES. It'll go away one day and I'll feel embarrassed for even contemplating liking this, but for now I'm going to enjoy the ride. And I hope you do too.

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who.

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter One

* * *

"Hello, Thidwick," Ned McDodd chirped to his pet fish as he stepped into his office. He snatched up a can of fish food and approached the bowl containing the happy pet. He sprinkled some flakes into the water and the fish eagerly dined on the food. "Hm…" The mayor raised an eyebrow and dipped his finger into the bowl and ran it along the glass. "Wow, you're a dirty little fish, aren't you?" he mused as he flicked the bit of grime off of his finger. The fish grinned sheepishly before he continued to eat.

He started digging through his desk and pulled out a plastic baggy. "You finish up there and I'll clean that bowl for you, 'kay?" He left to fill the baggy with water as Thidwick nodded. When he came back he searched through his desk once more and pulled out a bottle of cleaning liquid. "This should heeww!" He held it his arm's length away from his nose as a rank smell emanated from it. "What the heck??" He chanced looking inside the bottle, gagging as he did so. Something horribly rot-able had somehow been spilled into the bottle, basically ruining what had once been inside.

Trying to keep the contents of his stomach down, he tossed it into the trash bin and pushed it away from himself with his foot, against the wall. He shuddered, the smell seeming to stick inside his nose.

"Guess I should get a new one, huh?" he smiled at his fish. "Don't worry. As soon as I'm done with the paperwork I'll get some more and clean your bowl right up. That shouldn't take too long, right?" He glanced at the bin carrying unread papers. There was a ridiculous amount, the stack piled high. Thidwick rolled his eyes.

* * *

Ned left the building a good while later, carrying his fish in the dirty fishbowl along with him. He figured he may as well take it home since he was going to buy more of the cleaning liquid on the way. It wouldn't be very nice to leave the fish floating around in his own filth overnight.

He approached the store and stepped inside, causing a little jingle from the group of bells above the door. He would have continued on his merry way through the small store to get what he needed if it weren't for a grumpy looking Who at the counter clearing his throat to get the mayor's attention. Without a word, he pointed to a sign next to the door. Ned had to lean backwards in order to read what was on it, considering it was really meant to be read through the window by those outside. It was a list of expected dos and don'ts for the owner's store, one such rule catching his attention quickly.

NO PETS ALLOWED

How conveniently inconvenient.

Ned gave the store owner a sheepish grin before backing outside, clutching his fish's bowl close. He hesitated for a moment outside, thinking, before he held up the bowl to eye level. "You think you'll be okay out here by yourself? I'll only be in for a minute."

Thidwick waved his fin nonchalantly and gave the mayor a smirk. Of course he could handle himself. He was a fish, and that's what fish do.

The Who smiled at this, apparently satisfied. "Good fish," he said before placing the bowl right next to the door, right where he could easily scoop it up when he would leave. He opened the door, once more causing the cheery jingle before stepping inside the grumpy Who's store.

Thidwick quickly grew bored of waiting almost as soon as the mayor left. Not because that was what fish do, but because he had a small case of ADD. What was he supposed to do while his friend was gone? His position on the ground at the moment wasn't a very ideal one for watching the other Whos as they bustled about Who-ville. The little fish sighed, his eyelids drooping as he began to daydream about nothing in particular. It was when a big, pink foot came into view, way too close to his bowl for comfort, that he was snapped out of his thoughts. His eyes traveled up to see a pink and white Who looking down at him with a look of surprise.

This person happened to be Dr. Mary Lou LaRue, the brightest mind to recently come out of Who U. She knelt down and a smile spread across her lips as she looked over the little fish. "Oh, your perfect!" she exclaimed, missing her chance to show off her lisp for her verbal introduction to this story. She picked up the bowl, startling the pet at being handled by someone other than Ned. Or Mrs. Yelp, as she sometimes looked after the fish too. She may not act nice but she really did hide a softer side of herself that she exposed to Thidwick. There was no problem in that, considering he couldn't tell anyone about it, but now I'm getting off track.

LaRue softly poked at the bowl she now held in her hands, her grin widening enough to look manic. "This must be my lucky day," she said, now allowing me to point out her lisp as her S's were pronounced like Sh's. Failing to realize that the fish might actually belong to someone in her excitement, the doctor ran off.

Right after this had happened, Mr. McDodd stepped out of the store, cleaning product in one hand while the other scooped up the fish bowl. Too bad it was no longer there, as his hand only groped at ungrabbable air. His contented look faded and his eyes widened as his eyes fell to the spot where his pet should have been waiting for him. He stared at the slightly wet but otherwise empty spot and his jaw dropped. Who the heck would take a fish? Feeling peeved, his eyes traveled along the sidewalk where splashes of water lay leaving a trail. Either the fishnapper was clumsy or Thidwick purposefully left him those to follow. Regardless, the mayor sped off to get back his fish, following the trail of breadcrumbs in the form of water.

* * *

Mary Lou giggled excitedly as she placed the fish bowl within a small dome of glass hooked up to a large, complicated looking machine. Thidwick glared angrily at her, but she did not notice. She gave the fish a little wave before closing the little glass door and practically skipped over to a podium containing a ridiculous amount of buttons, dials, and levers. She adjusted her goggles and began working, twisting, and pulling whatever needed to be twisted or pulled and knowing what each and every action on the podium would do completely from memory. The machine hummed loudly to life, bubbles flowing through translucent pipes and electricity shooting around spikes of metal. It began to vibrate and shake as it built up energy, scaring the poor fish as he frantically swam around the bowl in a futile attempt to escape.

"No worries, Fishy," the doctor called over the noise, really not one for making up names. "You'll be just fine."

The noise caused by the machine stopped the scientist from hearing the door to the room slam open, and the fact that she had her back turned to it caused her not to see this either. If either of these two factors were not there to prevent her from seeing the angry, though quickly becoming shocked, mayor at the door, this story would have turned out quite differently. Things would have been a lot less hectic, I'll tell you that. The three of them more than likely would have walked away from this unscathed, though two of them miffed and the other ashamed. But this isn't what happened. Otherwise I probably wouldn't even be telling you about this considering it really wouldn't have made much of a story. But I digress.

"Thidwick!" Ned shouted, his voice drowned out by the machine's noise. He bolted past the doctor, toward the dome of glass. The fish pressed his face against the glass of the bowl, a look of relief on his face. LaRue's eyes widened as she looked up from the blinking podium, it now giving off a warning beep as the mayor opened the glass door.

"No Mr. Mayor!" she shouted, running toward him in alarm. She didn't get far, though. The last little factor that made this story possible was the simple fact that the young woman had been in too much of a panic at the sight of the mayor interrupting the procedure in a dangerous way that she had forgotten to simply turn off the machine. There was a small explosion as the built up energy was no longer contained within the glass dome, causing it to violently lash out at the room's occupants.

Ned screamed as the energy coursed through him, his muscles tensing up to the point of nearly snapping and his fur standing on end. LaRue was knocked back and hit the podium hard, sliding to the floor and not moving. Poor Thidwick got the brunt of it, though, considering he was in a bowl of energy-happy water.

Needless to say, the abuse they received caused them all to pass out.

* * *

A/N: Well, for my first chapter and first story for Horton Hears a Who, how was it? I wince in anticipation.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, I'm still quite apprehensive about putting this up, but at least now I know someone out there likes it. Haha. Thanks for the advice Forestwater. I try to be more showy, but the talking to the author part is staying because it's part of the writing style. I try to maybe tone it down, though...

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who.

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter Two

* * *

The world swirled unsteadily into Ned's consciousness. He could feel soreness lingering in his muscles, as though he had ran a marathon. His eyes twitched and he considered just lying there and sleeping for another few hours. Deciding against it, he cracked his eye open a little, groaning as the light hit his exposed pupil. _What happened?_ he wondered as his vision showed the world as a watery blur. His eyes shut tight and a yawn forced its way out of his throat, lolling his tongue out unceremoniously. He pushed himself up with his arm, immediately waking up completely in a panic when he started floating up. He didn't float for long, though, as he reached the surface of the shallow water he now found himself in.

Water. He was surrounded by water. His first thought was that he hadn't wet the bed since he was three. His second thought was how stupid the first thought was as no Who could pee this much in one night. At least not without noticing or killing themselves because that's a _lot_ of lost water. His third thought didn't happen as his mind had gone completely blank when he pulled his head up out of the water. He was lying in front of himself. There was a giant version of himself lying right in front of him, unconscious and drooling. Were his lips really that chapped?

Ned's breathing became quick and shallow and his now tiny heart began to race. His eyes darted around and he realized for the first time that he was in a dome of glass turned on its side. A dome of glass. His blood ran cold and his pupils constricted. He remembered what had happened. There was a dome of glass. His fish had been in it. There was an explosion. Now his body was lying in front of him, giant and all that fun. His panicked mind trudged slowly to the realization that he was now in his fish's body. That's why his body looked so big. And he was in the fish bowl. He was a fish.

Ned felt lightheaded for a moment and he let out a giddy laugh. "I'm a fish," he slurred between giggles, his voice strangely high-pitched. "A little fishy." He floated around in the small amount of water stupidly before snapping out of it. "No! I gotta get out of this mess."

He looked at the entrance to the bowl, which was on its side since the bowl had been tipped onto the floor. Without hesitation, he leapt out of the water and landed clumsily on his face before flopping to the side. He stood himself up, unsteady on his little fishy fins, before wobbling over to the giant LaRue. He tried to jump but fins really weren't made for jumping (at least not on land), let alone walking. He ended up falling to his side and he flopped around in frustration. This was much more effective, he realized, and used it to land on the Who's chest in front of her face.

"Dr. LaRue! Wake up!" he shouted, standing upright and slapping her in the face with his little fins. A soft groan was his only response as the Who remained unconscious. "LaRue! You wake up right now!" he screamed, flopping uselessly up and down on her in frustration.

The sound of a groan and movement stopped him in his flops. He turned around and held himself up with his front fins, his eyes widening as he saw his own body begin to stir awake. Gasping, he flopped to the floor and over to his body, forgetting to try and walk. He ended up splashing in the water and nearly forgot what he was doing when his fishy skin felt relief at being in contact with water again. He shook his head, quickly snapping out of it as his own blue eyes cracked open and looked blearily at him. They unfocused and drooped sleepily and his head was turned to nuzzle the wet floor.

_This is like a freaking nightmare._ Ned thought as he watched his own eyes snap open again, focusing on the little fish that he now was. "Th-Thidwick?" he ventured cautiously.

This had quite a reaction on the fish-turned-Who. His mouth gaped wide open and he flopped clumsily, not used to having to work with long limbs such as arms. The sight would have been comical if it weren't for the situation. Actually, it just wasn't comical to them. It can be comical to you, though considering you're not there, so go ahead and laugh or be generally amused. Thidwick wriggled his way to the bowl with surprising speed. Ned blanched as he watched his face being dunked in the water.

"No, Thidwick!" he shouted at his pet and flopped uselessly against his body. "You get my face out of there! I have lungs, I can't breath underwater!"

Thidwick stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth scrunching up in fear. It didn't take long at all for him to start coughing violently as his new lungs vehemently denied the entrance of the water. He threw his head back, taking the bowl with him and causing the rest of the water to splash over his new body. He gasped for air and made a squeaking noise, his voice muffled by the bowl now on his head. In absolute panic, the once-fish stumbled to his new, violently shaking feet and stumbled out of the room, ignoring Ned's cries for him to stop.

"Thidwick! No! Nueh-he… He can't- Dr. LaRue!" Ned turned desperately to the unconcious Who. He rolled around in the water before quickly making his way to her. This time he slapped his whole body against her face, splashing the collected water all over her.

This time he received a much better reaction as the Who gasped and muttered in sleepy surprise. "Wha?" She sat up and groaned, placing a hand over her eyes as a headache throbbed to life in her skull. Her hand traveled down her face and her brows furrowed in confusion when she noticed the wetness of her fur.

"This is no time, wake up right now!" Ned shouted.

She opened her eyes again and stared blearily at him. "What happened?" she muttered mostly to herself.

"What do you mean 'what happened?' What the heck were you trying to do!?" the mayor demanded.

LaRue's eyes widened and her head slumped slightly to the side. "Y-You can talk?" she uttered in a squeaky voice.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, that's what I am; a magical talking fish." He was obviously in a bad mood due to the current situation. Understandable. "It's me, the mayor! Your stupid… thing stuck me in my fish's body! Why did you take my fish??"

"F-Fish can't talk," Mary Lou said stupidly, still in that squeaky voice.

The Who-turned-fish marched (as well as a fish can march) right up close to her face and looked her in the eyes. "I… am… the… mayor," he said through clenched teeth. His frustration quickly faded once more to dread as he remembered that a certain little fish had run away with his body. He grabbed her face with his nubby little fins. "You have to get my body back! Thidwick is in it and I don't know _what_ he'll do!" He started to pant when a suffocating feeling came over him. "You… You…" he let go of her face and stumbled back as his breathing became more labored. His energy drained and he flopped to the side.

LaRue jumped to her feet and took the fish in her hands, muttering inchoherently to herself. She quickly strode over to a sink, grabbing a round, empty flask on the way. She filled the flask with water and dumped him inside. Ned merely floated in the water for a moment as his little fish body regained energy.

"You… um… you need to stay in water… Mr. Mayor," the pink Who said softly after she calmed herself down.

"Weneedtogetmybody!" he exclaimed, in one short breath, swimming frantically around the makeshift fish bowl as his fright returned with his energy. He stopped suddenly and gave her a look of annoyance. "Why the heck did you take my fish?"

LaRue looked away sheepishly and scratched the back of her head, wincing as her fingers applied pressure on the bump she had received during the explosion. "It…" she giggled nervously. "It was supposed to increase an animal's intelligence... When did you get a fish?"

Ned sighed and shook his head before quickly returning to find-my-body mode. "We've got to get Thidwick!"

"Right away, Mr. Mayor," she said and hurried out of the room.

* * *

A/N: I… am satisfied with this chapter. Gawd, it feels so good to be happy with what I write. This story is just what I needed, seriously. Now, please leave a review if you'd like while I go skip across a field of flowers.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: To explain about the mayor being able to breathe air as a fish; fish can actually survive without water for a few minutes. But that's not as important as the fact that this fic is based off a cartoon and cartoons (HHaW being no exception) frequently ignore the laws of reality. As Adam from Myth Busters says, "I reject your reality and substitute my own." I do that often, yup. Haha… these same ignorances allows the mayor to speak as a fish despite the fact that Thidwick's body lacks vocal chords. Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who.

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter Three

* * *

Ah, water. Water is so nice. Water gives life. It's refreshing too. It's the reason why a lot of things are alive right now. Yes, water is good. Thidwick thought so too. At the moment he was sitting in a large fountain full of water, his fish bowl still sitting around his new Who head.

Thidwick, despite being in such a comforting place, was terrified. He peaked over the edge off the fountain's rim, his eyes darting suspiciously from Who to Who. Some gave him funny looks, some avoided looking in his direction altogether, and a select few just stood there and outright gawked. Though he loved the water, he couldn't stop his new body from shivering. The matted fur felt uncomfortable as he just sat there in the fountain. At least the water wasn't as violently rejected as it had been when he tried to breathe it. He had even tried again to be sure while in the fountain, getting him even more strange looks, but that had yielded the same result.

He had no idea what he was going to do. Because of that crazy pink lady he was now in his owner's body. He had been in pure panic mode when he left, unable to properly coordinate his new body. But when he had calmed down a little, he couldn't figure out where he was. The moment he saw the fountain, he dove for it, knocking some people out of the way in the process. Needless to day, water was something he felt very comfortable around. It didn't help much now, though, and he hated that.

For now, all he could do was sit around, waiting for something to happen. He didn't know his way around very well and all those Whos wandering around didn't help, what with bunches of them giving him scary looks. He always looked forward to being carried around town by the mayor, but being by himself like this was terrifying, especially considering he wasn't a fish anymore.

Thidwick whimpered and splashed some water on himself in a small attempt at comforting himself. It didn't really work much, though, since the water was very cold and this new body did not like that as much as his fish one would have.

* * *

He almost wanted to cry. Ned McDodd, the Mayor of Who-ville, now turned into a fish, actually wanted to curl up in a ball. He could've really used a hug right about then. He had been shouting directions to the flustered Dr. LaRue as they looked for his body for about an hour now and he was actually feeling like just giving up. He fell silent, allowing the doctor to finally relax. She slumped against a wall, nearly sliding to the ground as she tried to catch her breath. When her breathing calmed, she held up the flask to eye level to look at the mayor. Her heart fell as she noticed his saddened look.

"Don't worry, Mr. Mayor," she said, trying to be reassuring. "We'll… We'll find him, alright? Where should we look next?"

Ned didn't reply, merely allowing himself to drift to the bottom of the container. He felt so helpless and he hated that. He was the mayor, it was his job to always have the answer to any problems. Yet here he was, stuck in his pet's body while his own was running around with a fish's mind in it. How was he supposed to find him?

_Now, that's not like you, _he chided himself. _You don't just give up so easily, not ever._

Idly, he listened to the chatter going on around them. It was a bit of a habit of his, considering he had to keep up to date with Who-ville's activities and whatnot. This little habit suddenly became very useful as Ned caught a small bit of a very interesting conversation.

"Did you see the new movie, Over the Ledge?"

"Oh yeah, I really like it. I loved the part when…"

Yeah. Conversations about movies he was interested in were fun. Then he suddenly heard something even more interesting.

"The mayor is acting strange, don't you think?"

"Yeah, why was he sitting in the square's fountain like that? And with a fish bowl on his head? Weird."

Ned felt elation, dread, and frustration all at once. Elation because he now knew where his body was, dread because apparently so did everyone else, and frustration because he should have thought to look at such a water-filled spot like the fountain in the first place.

"Dr. LaRue! Head to the square, I think my body is there," he exclaimed, not caring that he had just made a rhyme. His spirits lifted and the scientist pushed away from the wall, the two of them hurrying to the square.

Now, I _could_ say that the story ends here. Then they'd continue on with their lives, glad that nothing major happened. But I'm afraid that is not nearly as much fun. This story is most certainly not about to end so quickly.

LaRue ran to the square, both she and the mayor catching sight of the Who's body sitting in the fountain. They sighed with relief as they foolishly thought this was all over. Something else caught their attention, though. Something that stopped whatever celebration they would have had and made their blood run cold.

A Gatordile was about to eat Thidwick!

No, I'm kidding. They actually saw the head of the Who-ville council, VonFrood, making his way toward the fountain with a worried look on his face.

That's just as bad. Maybe worse.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Mayor?" the head councilman asked, breathing a sigh of relief as he yanked who he thought was Ned McDodd out of the fountain. "We've been waiting for you. We set up an extra meeting for the Eighth of Who-ly celebration, don't you remember? It's just like you to forget something like this, now get this ridiculous thing off your head and let's go!" He yanked the bowl off of the sopping wet Who's head and started to drag him away, muttering angrily at the mayor's tardiness.

It was at this point that Ned and Mary Lou snapped out of it and began to run toward the two of them. "Wait! Mr. VonFrood!" the pink Who shouted while the mayor grumbled to himself in frustration about how he had forgotten entirely about the extra meeting. If he had stuck around the office and had gone to it, probably none of this would have happened.

They didn't make it. The councilman had dragged Thidwick into a car and they sped off, leaving the two distressed Whos (never mind that one was no longer a Who) in the dust.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, not too much happened, but something is looming ahead. winkwink Also, I dunno if there is anything called a Gatordile in the 'Seussiverse' but I like that word so yeah.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This one came rather quickly, eh? Yup, some chapters are easier to write. I think… this story is going to be longer than I originally thought.

Thanks, The Empress, I didn't know about Mr. Krinklebine. Actually, I don't really remember The Cat in the Hat story for some reason, all I can remember is rain, the two kids, the hat with little cats in it, the cat, the Things… and some sort of mess. For some reason I keep thinking of snow, but I don't think it was snowing cuz I remember rain… Oh well, I'm probably just thinking of the Grinch. I like the live-action Grinch movie… better than Horton! !FLINCH! But I've never watched the Cat in the Hat one. I hear it's horrible, but I'd still like to see so I can judge for myself. Oh wait… I should probably stop rambling….

But wait… AquaMermaid6 I had that part written out BEFORE your review and everything! !shriekinterror! At least you didn't guess _everything_. Nyuknyuk.

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who.

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter Four

* * *

Ned swam around the flask impatiently, hating that he had to be carried around. He wanted to have a Who body again so he could run along with LaRue and get his anxiety and access energy out of his system. Then again, he wouldn't even need to get rid of the stress if he had his body because then he wouldn't have the stress in the first place. That thinking was pointless, though. For now all he could do was swim in circles and try to keep from screaming in frustration…

LaRue had slowed from a run to a brisk walk as she gasped for breath. She wasn't in the best of shape, considering she was more interested in tinkering with inventions and such rather than exercising outdoors. She was still tired from the constant running around she had to do for about and hour earlier. This was part of the cause of Ned's distress, though most of it was the fact that his body was at a meeting while a fish's mind was in it. Joy.

When they finally neared the building, Ned had to resist the urge to throw his little fishy body of the flask and onto the street so he could wobble over to it himself. He knew better than to do that, though. It wouldn't exactly be a good thing to be accidentally squished under someone's foot. Plus he doubted he could make it up the large set of stairs, let alone go that long without water. From what he experienced in LaRue's lab, he could go for a little while, but that wasn't nearly enough. Anyway, the doctor was taking him so there was no need for him to nearly kill himself by trying to get there by himself.

They approached the door and she tried to open it, but it was locked. That was a bad sign. She quickly made her way along the side of the building, where luckily a window had been left open. LaRue leaned heavily against the wall, trying to catch her breath as silently as possible as she held the flask up. They peaked inside through the window. A feeling dread settled nicely in Ned's stomach as he realized they had just finished the pledge and the meeting was about to begin. In the center of the room stood Thidwick, shivering from the cold water and standing strange. He kept trying to keep his feet completely together (since he was used to having one tail fin rather than two feet), but it wasn't easy for him to stand that way. It would be foolish to barge in and snatch him up now. They would have to wait for now and hope that nothing horrible happens.

"Mr. Mayor, what are you doing?" one of the council members asked, raising an eyebrow at the Who's strange stance. Thidwick stopped fidgeting and gaped at him, honestly not sure what to say, let alone how to talk. The councilman actually grew a little nervous at from his blatant stare. "Eh… Never mind."

"Well then, let's begin, shall we?" VonFrood said, smacking the gavel on the counter to allow the rest of the Whos to sit. Noticing this, Thidwick sat down on the floor. "What are you doing? Get back up!" the green Who hissed at the confused once-fish. He stood back up, flailing his arms wildly as he nearly fell over from trying to keep his feet together. When he settled down, the councilman cleared his throat. "Now, let's start with the Eighth of Who-ly celebration preparations…"

Things went relatively well at this point. Whos from the chairs stood to give their suggestions, each called on one at a time. Some of their ideas and suggestions were pretty interesting too. Ned really wished he were actually part of this meeting, some of those people really deserved praise. Also, he had a few suggestions he would have liked to make himself. He and Mary Lou actually began to relax as it looked as though they were in the clear. The fools. Luck did not smile on them for long.

"Right. Mr. Mayor," the head chairman said, grinning wide as he turned to the fish-turned-Who. "What do you have to say on the conditions around town? The celebration is only a few days away and we want this all to go off without a hitch."

Thidwick stared at the Who, his mouth opening and closing stupidly. The councilman raised an eyebrow and his smile faded slightly as the Whos around them began to mutter. The unease was obvious. The two at the window caught a few words about the earlier fountain incident. It seemed as though people were beginning to think that their mayor going crazy. Ned began to tremble and his eye twitched as he watched this. His nerves were frayed enough as it was and this was starting to send him over the edge. He was going to have to try pretty hard to get his reputation back after people seeing him splashing around in the fountain and gawking like an idiot in the middle of an important meeting. At least something major had yet to happen... The keyword being yet. Hah.

"Mr.… Mayor?" the green Who leaned forward, his brows furrowing.

The pet opened his new mouth again, this time deciding to try pushing air through it, figuring now was as good a time as any for him to learn how to talk.

"Awha."

"Awha…?" the head councilman repeated in confusion. Thidwick, actually quite proud of himself, nodded enthusiastically. The Who frowned at this, becoming quite irritated as the Whos around them grew more nervous. "Mr. Mayor, stop being a _boob_ and focus!" he snapped, knowing this was something that Ned hated to be called. If anything, _that _would snap him out of any act of idiocy.

That word caused Thidwick to recall something his owner would do on occasion in the office. He glanced around and saw a nearby Who holding a fat pen. He rushed over, tripping up as he tried to keep his feet together, and snatched the pen away from the flustered Who.

Ned's eyes slowly began to widen.

The 'mayor' shuffled back to the center of the room, holding up the pen triumphantly. VonFrood gave him a very strange look, making a small noise of confusion. Thidwick glanced at the pen again and swung his arm back.

The mayor began to stutter as cold shock ran over and over again through his veins. _No way Thidwick…_

"Yoar-sha-bewb!" (your the boob) Thidwick shouted cheerily before hurling the pen at the head chairman.

"NO!!" Ned shrieked, causing LaRue to slam the window shut just before the room's occupants could see them. "Oh sweet holy mother of Seuss, what did I do to deserve this!?" He swirled spastically within the flask, babbling hysterically.

"Mr. Mayor, please calm down!" the pink Who tried desperately to quiet the frantic once-Who.

Ned did not hear her, though, and he started to slam into the sides of the flask in a fit of temporary insanity. It was too small. He needed to get out. He dove to the bottom of the flask and shot out of the rim, catching the doctor by complete surprise. Her heart skipped a beat and she dove for the fish, trying to catch him before he fell to the unforgiving ground. She hit the concrete hard, the flask shattering as it did so too, but she felt no fish land in her arms. She glanced around. No fish. She looked down and her blood ran cold.

There was a sewer grate. With holes big enough to fit a fish through. And the fish was nowhere in sight.

"M-Mr. Mayor?" she called softly into the grate, unable to see inside. There was no answer. Her breathing became short and quick as panic set in. "MR. MAYOR!!"

* * *

A/N: Oh, poor Ned. But I can't bring myself to feel bad. What did he do to deserve such humiliation? He became my favorite character, that's what he did. My likeage for him is awesome.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Yay! I got the reaction I wanted with the pen throwage of the previous chapter. Victory. Anyway, it's official, this story has RUN AWAY. Ideas are snapping into my typing fingers that I had not before thought of and the biggest evidence of it is how this chapter has unfolded, especially at the end. Admittedly, the origional idea I had for what would happen was comparitavely boring to what's going to happen now.

You're crystal clear, Forestwater, and I'm thrilled that the chairman's behavior was noticed. I don't like how whenever he's in a fanfic he's all mean and spiteful merely out of hate for the mayor. He may not be fond of the mayor, but I doubt it's as strong as hate. Yes, I believe that he's more of a vehement optimist than a hateful... uh... mayor hater. Yeah.

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who. I own Uel. Le gasp! I'm introducing an ACC? Oh the terror.

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter Five

* * *

Ned walked into the kitchen, a wide grin on his face. Ever since the fish incident, he had grown to appreciate things he had before taken for granted. Like the ability to walk, for instance. Or breathe air and not water. He took a deep breath, the smell of his wife's cooking making him salivate. Speaking of his wife, Sally was the only one in the kitchen at the moment. Their supper was not yet ready and she was in front of the oven still preparing it. He quietly walked up behind her, planning to hug her from behind and kiss her on the cheek. He knew she was busy, but he was sure a small show of affection wouldn't bother her too much.

He put his hands on her shoulders and she whirled around, grabbing him tight around the neck. "Ghk!" He tried to breathe, but his airway had been efficiently closed. He tried to reach up and grab her hands, but all he could do was flail a pair of fish fins. She tossed his small body onto the cutting board, holding him still so she could cut off his head.

The family loves fish dinner.

* * *

Ned jerked awake and glanced around in panic, his poor little fish heart beating fast within him. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't about to be killed and another moment of deep breaths to calm himself. This was difficult, though, as the harsh reality of waking was almost as unnerving as the nightmare had been.

He was still a fish.

He groaned and rested against the bottom of the murky water, feeling a wave of helplessness rush over him. Not only was he still a fish, but he was now stuck inside the sewers. He hadn't meant to fall in, it just happened by accident during his bout of temporary insanity brought on by Thidwick screwing things over big time for him. Oh the hemorrhaging embarrassment.

The mayor winced as he remembered exactly what had happened. He decided it was best not to think about it anymore. Right now he had to figure out how to get out of this foul smelling place. He wasn't sure how far he had drifted when he had fallen in. The current had been fast and shallow where he had fallen and he ended up being slammed into walls and such, thoroughly knocking him out. His head hurt, but just so long as he avoided sudden movements or spinning around in circles, he figured he would be just fine.

He began to swim along the corridor of stink, keeping his eyes upon the ceiling for any form of exit. He eventually found one and he felt his heart plummet. It was getting dark out. "Sally…" he uttered softly, wondering how worried she was. She was probably pulling her hair out in worry. No. More than likely she was keeping the kids calm, telling them everything was all right while she kept her own worry hidden from them. He hated to put her through this. He should have been home Seuss knows how long ago. But instead here he was, floating around in a sewer.

And there was no way he was going to reach that grate.

Idly, the once-Who wondered if he could navigate his way beneath his home and swim up the toilet pipe. That was discarded almost as soon as it was thought, though. There was no way he could know how to find his way around in such a foreign place. He could probably use what he could see out of the grates to find his way around, but most of what he could see was sky, not landmarks or buildings. He began to float aimlessly, at a complete loss of what to do.

He wasn't sure when he had drifted once more into sleep or if he had really been asleep at all, but it was when he heard a low growling that he snapped into full wakefulness. A shadow loomed over him and he slowly looked up.

"HI GUY!" a voice shrieked in his face, causing Ned to scream in a surprised response. " Now that wasn't very nice…" The once-Who stared in shock at this other fish he had just found (or rather, had just found him). He looked the splitting image of Thidwick, except he was blue instead of red. He had been grinning widely at him when he had first spoken, but after Ned's shout his smile dropped to a grimace. "Didn't have to scream in my face like that, y'know?"

"_You're_ the one who screamed in _my_ face first," the mayor responded as he recovered from the shock.

The other fish grinned widely again. "Guess I did, huh?" He shrieked with laughter for no apparent reason, unsettling the mayor quite a bit. The fish abruptly stopped laughing and got right up in his face, still grinning his manic grin. "So where you from? Did you pretend to be dead so you're owner would flush you?"

Ned stared at him for a moment before answering hesitantly. "Uh… no. Did you?"

"Nope!" the fish backed away, much to Ned's relief, and started swimming around him in jerking motions. "My owner knew I was alive. She just didn't care!" He laughed that unnerving laugh once more, seeming all too pleased with such an unfortunate event.

"Um… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be!" he shouted, getting in his face again. "It was hilarious!" He backed away and stared at him, now smiling in a strangely blank way.

"Okay…" the mayor uttered, not liking this fish one bit.

"My name's Samuel! You can call me Sam! Or Sammy! Nobody's called me Uel, yet… How 'bout you call me Uel? What's your name?"

"I'm Ned McDaahh…" he trailed off and thought for a moment, realizing it would be quite pointless to give away his last name. Not that it was a _bad_ idea, it would just be so blaringly pointless. He was talking to a fish, after all. A rather stupid one. "It's Ned."

The blue fish's grin somehow actually managed to widen. Any wider and it looked as though his face would split in two, which would be funny. "I like that name. Wanna be friends?" He swam in a speedy circle, not waiting for an answer, and hugged him. "We'll be best friends!" He let him go and swam in more circles, this time more lazily.

"Yeah… Best friends…" Ned rolled his eyes. He brightened up a little as he thought of something. "Hey Uel, how long have you been here?"

"Seven farglewargles." The fish giggled hysterically, beginning to annoy his new companion. "It's a measure of time I made up myself! Ha!"

If Ned had been in his own body, he probably would've been attempting to yank his hair out. Seeing as he had no hair to yank or fingers to do the yanking at the moment, he settled for gritting his teeth. He took a deep breath and sighed, using some mental exercize he read about somewhere to reduce stress. That felt better. "I'll assume you've been here longer than me. Do you happen to know any way out of here?"

"Oh there's plenty of ways, yeah." Uel nodded enthusiastically, still grinning his manic grin.

Ned's spirits lifted at this. "Really? Where?" His spirits immediately plummeted once more as the fish pointed his fin up, towards a happily unreachable sewer grate. "And how am I supposed to get out through there?"

"You could fly."

Ned face-palmed (as well as a fish could face-palm).

"Well, there's other ways too, y'know," the fish said, for the first time looking a little annoyed himself. The look of annoyance didn't seem right on his face. The mayor gave him a skeptical look and Uel nodded, the smile once more returning to its rightful place. "Yup, yup. It's real easy to reach, too. It'll take you right to the town's main fountain, yes it will."

Ned grabbed him, trying to fight the urge to either shake the fish in frustration for not telling him earlier or hug him for telling him now. "Where is it? Can you show me?"

"No. Wait… yes! Yes I can!" the strange fish wiggled enthusiastically. "Just follow me, I'll show you-"

CHOMP!

...

Oh crap.

Ned's eyes widened to the size of saucers. What he saw had him stammering incoherently. He shouldn't be seeing this, it was all supposed to be a silly myth, not real. Yet there it was, grinning down at him with very, very large teeth. A giant Gatordile. A freaking giant sewer Gatordile. And it had just eaten his directions to the way out.

* * *

Earlier...

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no," Mary Lou uttered frantically to herself as she paced pointlessly on top of a sewer grate. She bent down for the hundredth time and tried desperately to see inside. "Hello? Mr. Mayor?" she called, as she had been for the past few minutes. Just as before, there was no answer.

The poor Who whimpered and stood back up, wringing her hands. Curses upon nasty curses piled up within her mind, all directed toward herself. _Why did I just take the fish?_ she thought angrily at herself. _Why hadn't it occurred to me that it belonged to someone? Fish don't just sit out in the street, waiting to be taken by whoever takes them. That's foolishness. Foolishness! If I had the brain capacity to think such a simple little thought such as 'huh, maybe he DOESN'T belong to me,' then none of this would have happened! One little iota of brain power! You're an idiot, LaRue, an IDIOT._

Her inner berating was abruptly cut off at the sound of the doors to the building slamming open. She looked around the corner and saw Whos clad in white rushing inside. She caught sight of two of them carrying an empty stretcher.

_Big deal._ a small, angry part of her mind sneered, somehow detached from her state of panic. _So Mr. VonFrood got hit in the head with a pen, why make such a big deal over that?_ It was the stress. The stress was making her somehow very angry.

Her eyes widened when she saw that VonFrood was not being carried out. Thidwick was, and he had a nasty bruise forming on his forehead. _How funny, he threw the pen and it bounced back! Hah!_

The flustered scientist was becoming drained from her rapidly fluctuating emotions and thoughts. She rubbed her temples and demanded to herself that she calmed down. _What am I gonna do? Wadama gonna do?_

She looked back up and grew confused. The Whos who were carrying Thidwick… they weren't headed toward the hospital. They were going in another direction entirely.

* * *

A/N: I just keep burying Ned deeper and deeper, don't I? Fun! That last part with LaRue I wasn't origonally going to have, but then I realized I should, so then I did.

_Rest in Peace  
Samuel A.K.A. Uel_

_You were flushed like a turd.  
You got eaten by a gater.  
You were dumber than dirt.  
We ain't seein' you later._

I fail so hard at rhymes. XD


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This... was an annoyingly difficult chapter to write. I don't really like how it turned out, but I really just want to get it up and get right to the next chapter so yeah. Also, no worries Forestwater. I made Uel annoying on purpose and killed him off quickly equally on purpose. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who. I own Dr. Why, Dr. That, Lucy, and Mr. Conwal. What? _More_ ACCs? Arg!

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter Six

* * *

Everything felt so… soft. He was dry and comfortable too, despite the fact that he was used to having to be in water in order to be comfortable. For the first time in several hours, Thidwick felt safe. He was waking up, but he didn't want to and curled up and snuggled into the softness he was lying on. The only softness he had ever really felt was water, and that's not really all that solid enough to truly be called soft. He tried to drift off again, but now his mind was starting to wander and keep him awake.

What had happened? Unfortunately, he could easily remember that he was still in his owner's body, that had yet to escape him. But that wasn't what was bothering him. When had he fallen asleep? He felt so comfortable, but why was he where he was? Speaking of which, where was he?

He cracked his eyes open and nearly had to shut them again when white light viciously attacked his poor, defenseless retina. He curled up some more, as though that would protect his eyes. It wasn't bright, that wasn't what was wrong. It was all the surrounding white. He lifted his head to look around but he couldn't keep his neck tense enough and his face hit the softness again, agitating a bruise over his left eye. He let out a frustrated groan, finding it still strange to have a voice that wasn't his own, let alone a voice at all. When had he gotten that bruise? He tried to move his arms so he could lift himself up, but found they would not budge. Something was keeping them pressed against his body. He struggled to sit up, but it was even harder to coordinate this body without arms to help and he ended up merely lying there.

He had no idea what the thing was that was keeping his arms from moving, but we do. He had a straightjacket on. And the surrounding softness is explained by the fact that he was in a padded room.

Uh, yeah. He was in the Who-ville Institution for the Mentally Not-So-Good. Catchy name, no?

Thidwick glanced up as the door opened, this time much more successful at keeping his head up. A white and brown Who stepped inside holding a notepad and wearing thick glasses that magnefied his eyes. "Ah, good to see you're awake, Mr. Conwal." He said, nodding gleefully. Conwal? That was… not his owner's last name. "You've been out for a while now, how are you feeling?" Thidwick just stared at him and the doctor swooped in up close, smiling strangely. "Why are you opening and closing your mouth like that?" The once-fish clamped his mouth shut tight. He was used to doing that as a fish and it seemed as though the habit had been carried with him to this new body.

"Doctor! Dr. Why! I flushed Sammy!" The Who turned around as a blue, haggard looking woman ran up to the door. She stopped short of stepping inside, opting to talk to him from just outside of the room.

"Now why did you do that, Lucy?"

The newly dubbed Lucy pursed her lips and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know."

Dr. Why shook his head. "You were doing so good. How can I trust you to roam freely during the day if I can't even trust you to take care of something as simple as a fish?"

At this, the woman looked worried. "But Sammy was annoying. Besides, he didn't mind. He thought it was hilarious!"

"Lucy, I think you should have a time out for a while. Dr. That." At the sound of his name, a white Who came up behind the blue one. "Take Lucy to her room. She flushed another fish."

Thidwick blanched as the young woman was lead away, hanging her head and pouting like a guilty child. She flushed _another_ fish? As in she did this repeatedly? She was a murderer!

"You look scared, Mr. Conwal," he looked up at the doctor again as he spoke. "Don't worry, Lucy will be fine. And hopefully we can get you all right again very soon." He stood up straight at the sound of beeping. He pulled a pager out of his pocket and nodded. "I have to go now, sir. I'll come back later." With that, he left the room and shut the door. There was a click, indicating that it was locked.

Oh wait. Now he remembered why he had a bruise over his eye. When he threw the fat pen at the chairman, it had bounced back and hit him too. Huh. That would also explain why he had been knocked out. But why did that guy keep calling him Mr. Conwal?

THUNK.

Thidwick let out a squeak of surprise when he heard a noise from the other side of the door. He looked up and saw a pink face through the window, pressed up against the glass to look inside. He never thought he would actually be so happy to see that crazy scientist again. "Yes! There you are!" he heard LaRue's muffled voice, her lisp as thick as ever. She disappeared from view for a moment and he could hear voices from the other side. The door clicked and LaRue stepped inside. She had a large tag on her chest reading in bright letters 'VISITOR.'

"Ma'am, are you sure you want to rush in there like that?" he heard another, worried voice. "Mr. Conwal has a record of severe-"

"That's not Mr. Conwal, that's the mayor!" LaRue exclaimed in surprise. "It's no wonder finding him was so hard, you got him mixed up with someone else. There must have been a screw up How the heck did you not notice the crest, let alone _recognize_ him?"

"...Oh-Oh dear… I gotta tell Dr. Why!" the sound of footfalls scurrying off down the hall was heard.

LaRue approached Thidwick and knelt down next to him. "We gotta get you out of here right away," she said as she started undoing the straps to his straightjacket. Just as she finished helping him pull it off, Dr. That stepped into the doorway.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Who demanded, looking very worried.

"I'm getting the mayor out of here," the doctor responded coolly as she helped the once-fish to his feet.

"That's not the mayor, that's Mr. Conwel. Are you one of the patients?" he shook his head in disappointment. "You guys are always stealing the visitor's tags. We need those to tell who's visiting and who's not." He started to approach them, drawing himself up to his full, towering height and pulling out a syringe.

"But I _am _a visitor," she said, but it was obvious he did not believe her. _This place is insane!_ LaRue thought ironically. She immediately leapt into action and assumed an awkward fighting stance. "Back off!" she exclaimed. "I know Tai Whotsu!"

Dr. That only looked her up and down before shaking his head. "From the awkward position you're standing in, I'd say you most certainly do not."

"… Oh… really?"

"Yeah." The Who uncapped the needle. As he did so, the scientist took the opportunity to snatch Thidwick's arm and rush past the doctor. "Hey!" He gave chase, trying to keep up with the two fleeing Whos.

Mary Lou pumped her legs hard as she dashed down the halls, dodging nurses, patients, and other such dodge-able objects. Thidwick tried his best to keep up and run along with her, but most of the time he ended up merely being dragged along. One of the nurses came strolling by near one of the exits, pushing a trolley full of miscellaneous items of no real interest.

"Nurse! Stop them!" Dr. That shouted as he gained on the two of them.

The woman gasped and jumped to the side, blatantly ignoring the doctor's orders for her own safety. LaRue pushed Thidwick ahead of her, toward an exit, and hissed to him to keep running. She skidded to a stop next to the trolley and spun around, shoving the wheeled object as hard as she could. Dr. That howled as it ran into him. He glared at the retreating Who's back and flung the syringe as hard as he could just before the trolley crashed into a wall, knocking him senseless.

Thidwick gasped as he stumbled outside. He stopped when he ran into a car, accidentally scuffing up the paint job. He didn't know this, but that was Dr. Why's car. The once-fish glanced around wildly, looking for anybody either friend or foe. Where was Dr. LaRue? Where was Dr. That?

He was promptly given an answer to one of the questions when the familiar pink and white Who burst through the door, rushing past him and grabbing his arm to pull him along. "We gotta get out of here! We gotta get ba-" she gasped when she stumbled to the ground, hissing as she hit the hard concrete of the parking lot. She struggled to her shaking feet. "Hurry, Fishy, we… we…" Her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and she fell once more.

This time Thidwick caught her, squeaking in surprise. Lodged in her shoulder was the syringe that Dr. That had thrown at her. Apparently, the doctor had amazing aim. He yanked it out and flung it a good ways away. He picked the unconscious Who up bridal style and ran out of the parking lot as fast as he could.

* * *

A/N: I don't know much at all about mental institutions, but considering this his fictional little Who-ville, I am willing to take some creative liberties and ignore whatever needs to be ignored. Who-ville is awesome like that. -sigh- Sorry, none of my other ACCs died. At least one of them got hurt, though, right? Hah.

This chapter was actually completely new to the original plot. Origionally, there was no trip to the mental institution. A whole chapter was completely revamped because of this, but it's for the better. Too bad I had that one written out beforehand. Wah. Oh well, all for the plot!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I hit a bit of a mental snag... and the rest of this story isn't really as planned as the first parts were. The most of the rest here I'm kinda just pulling straight from my ass, so this might get real crappy... yeah. Now all I need to do is hope my internet holds up and this gets through. If you're reading this, then I guess that means it did, eh? Yay!

Disclaimer: I don't own Horton Hears a Who.

It's Tough Bein' a Fish

by Zeakari

Chapter Seven

* * *

"Why hello there, morsel," the Gatordile growled, its voice like rocks grinding in its throat. "Too bad about your friend, eh? Don't worry. I'll bring you right to him." The creature ran its tongue along its mouth and Ned was sure that if they hadn't been underwater he probably could have seen slobber all over its face.

"N-Now let's be reasonable about this…" he said and let out a nervous laugh.

"Hurr, don't bother you silly little fillet," the creature said and laughed. Its mouth opened wide and the poor little once-Who nearly lost his fishy tail as he dodged its menacing teeth.

"Please! No! I have to get back to my family!" the mayor cried as the creature snapped loudly and churned up the water.

"Everyone seems to have a family just before they get eaten," the Gatordile snickered coldly and continued its gnashing. "Hold still, you're only making me more hungry."

Ned continued to dodge, his little fishy heart beating wildly as the massive beast tried to keep up with him. There was nowhere to go, though, except around and around. He could try to run away (swim away, actually, but oh well) down the corridors, but where would that lead him? He was running out of options fast as his muscles started to burn in protest from the constant, panicked movement. He wasn't used to exerting himself this much, let alone doing so in a fish's body.

His heart felt like it stopped when he was suddenly enclosed in a moist darkness. He shuddered violently as the cushion-like floor beneath him pressed close and slid against him. He heard a guttural laugh boom all around him and a light started to seep through what he could only assume were teeth as the creature grinned.

He was in its mouth.

"Gotcha," he was jostled around as the creature spoke. There was the exit, right past those teeth. All he had to do was swim as fast as he could past them and he would be out. But he could not bring himself to move. He was frozen in place by pure panic and fear. The creature's tongue started to shift him around, bringing him toward the teeth so they could tear him to pieces. Its mouth was open big enough now to snap down on him in a second if he tried to escape.

He latched his fins tight on the creature's tongue, resisting its attempts to move him. Through some miracle (in the from of adrenaline and terror, giving him temporary super-fish strength) he managed to resist moving. He heard the Gatordile grunt in frustration and the tongue scraped him hard against the roof, trying to dislodge him.

"Why me?" Ned whined as his breath was squished out of him. "I'm the mayor of Who-ville, I don't deserve to be eaten by a sewer Gatordile!"

"Delusional fillet!" the creature gagged. "Leggo!"

"No!"

The Gatordile hacked and spit. It growled and leaned up against a wall, shaking his head furiously. It roared loudly, snapping its head onto the wall as hard as it could in desperation.

"Guh…" its mouth flopped open and Ned drifted out, the both of them stunned from the blow.

He stared up at the beast in shock and let out a giggle before shaking his head and darting away as fast as he could. There was a snarl as it too recovered. He glanced around wildly and tried not to panic. There was no way he could out-swim that thing. He had to find a way out and fast.

"Get back here! I'm hungry!"

Part of him wanted to respond in some sort of witty way, but an even bigger part of him decided that it was a much better idea to save his energy for _escaping_. Too bad this body he now found himself in was really not made for speed. He could hear the Gatordile's guttural laugh as it gained on him. Then he saw salvation in the form of a hole in the wall, just big enough for him to get into and much too small for that beast to follow. He could practically hear a choir of Who angels singing as he caught sight of it, just above the water level. But before he could celebrate, he had to get to it.

He pumped his tail hard, swooping upward toward the hole. All he had to do was leap up and make it inside. There was no making mistakes. He could not miss, if he wanted to live he had to make this jump perfect. The water surged behind him as the creature's gaping maw surrounded him. He leapt out of the water. So did the Gatordile.

There was a sickening crunch as its jaws snapped down around him.

* * *

_Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?_

Thidwick whimpered and whined as he wandered aimlessly around Who-ville, hauling around Mary Lou in his arms. The only sign of life she displayed was her slow breathing. She was quite dead to the world. Thidwick, however, was not so lucky. He was alert, awake, and the duty of finding out where the heck they were and where the heck they needed to get to rested solely on him. He just wandered, looking around frantically for some sign of familiarity, but either he had never been around here before or his memory was poor in his state of near panic.

Eventually he found something very familiar, though. A fountain. It wasn't the same as the one he had found before, but that hardly matters. He found himself unable to resist walking toward it. He did not dive right into it like he had the last time. This time he placed LaRue on a bench near the fountain and sat at its rim. He really wanted to jump in again, but he remembered how cold he had felt afterward. Instead he settled for dunking in his furry arms up to the elbows. His mind reveled in the cold feeling but his new skin tingled in protest.

Suddenly water splashed up in his face causing him to automatically throw his soaking arms up in front of himself, incidentally splashing himself with more water. He glanced around, seeing nobody nearby that could've splashed him, and looked back into the water. What he saw had him gaping stupidly. There, floating in the water in a daze, was the familiar little red fish that we currently know as the mayor of Who-ville.

Yup. He made it.

Want to know how?

That sickening crunch was not caused by the mayor's poor fishy body being crushed in the Gatordile's jaw, it was the sound of the creature's face smashing into the wall just before its mouth could close completely. This allowed Ned to escape more or less unharmed. He had swum around blindly through a maze of pipes, squeezed through a crack in a filter, and was caught in a strong, fast current that slammed him around before he popped out of one of the fountain's spouts. For the moment he merely floated in the refreshingly clean water in a daze, recovering from his recent ordeal.

"Gah!" Thidwick exclaimed, honestly having nothing else to exclaim, and laughed. He dunked his hands in the water once more, scrabbling to grab a hold of the slippery thing. He pulled him up out of the water and squeezed him against his face in a sort of hug.

"Thidwick!" Ned exclaimed, snapping out of his daze. He laughed and hugged his pet back as best as he could with his fishy fins.

"Ned, what are you doing?"

In an instant, Thidwick gasped and whipped around, facing Ned's wife Sally. Something quite amusing happened in that short instant, though. When he gasped, his mouth was quite close to the mayor. His sudden intake of breath had ended up being just powerful enough to suck the once-Who right up into his mouth. Funny, huh? So when he turned to Sally, Ned's fishy tail was sticking out of his mouth.

"Ned, what are..." she faltered, catching a glimpse of the bright red fin. "What is that in your mouth?"

Thidwick quickly sucked the rest of the fish in his mouth before giving her a wide, sheepish grin. "Gum!" Ned exclaimed from inside his mouth, causing him to open it slightly in surprise. The result made it look as though Thidwick had spoken.

Sally raised an eyebrow. "Gum?"

"Yes, I'm chewing gum," Ned said and Thidwick, catching on, moved his mouth accordingly as best as he could. "The dentist says this kind is good for my teeth. It's red and shaped like a fish." He blurted that last part by accident and face-palmed.

"Shaped like a fish..." his wife repeated, looking confused. "How can gum have a shape once you've chewed on it?"

"I was... doing gum mouth-igami - So how was your day, hun?" he blurted quickly, swiftly changing the subject.

"Well I spent the last few hours worrying for you when you didn't come home or call or anything," she said equally as swiftly. She crossed her arms and looked up at who she though was her husband, her posture demanding an explanation from him without the need for her to say anything.

"Sorry about that," Ned said, wincing. "Things got... pretty hectic today, to say the least."

Sally looked down at the ground for a moment before she nodded, accepting that answer. "Well, then, we'd better get going. I left Jojo in charge and I don't know how long he can handle the girls on his own."

She took Thidwick's hand and lead them away, towards their home. It was after they reached the house, after Thidwick rushed the half-concious mayor into some water, that either of them realized something very important. They had left Dr. LaRue alone on the bench, still passed out.

* * *

A/N: DX Cruddy cruddy crapinson.


End file.
